HELP WANTED
by addicted2coffee
Summary: Alone on a street corner, pain too deep for words, she calls upon the one person she knows she can count on “Luke?... I need help.” “...he could do nothing else but let go and simply cry with her.” One shot R&R please(LL-what else)


**Aloneon a street corner,****pain too deep for words, she calls upon the one person she knows she can count on "Luke?... I need help.""...he could do nothing else but let go and simply cry with her." One shot R/R!**

**A/N: **Ook folks I'm back (finally) for another go. This one shot fic popped into my mind when i was supposed to be writing my term paper, but hey roll with the inspirations right? Anyway i hope you like it! It's got no specific time setting i guess it could really sit in anywhere but im gonna place it ooo prolly season 4 before the kiss; but they are both single, jason is only a dream, and Luke definatly did _NOT_ marry that woman (i like to avoid saying her name) Also, I wrote this in one sitting so if its bad- there ya go! PLEASE REVIEW AT THE END AND TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK:-)

**Disclaimer:** Not mine:-(thats only a dream too)-:

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**Help Wanted**

Darkness was bathing the little street corner a block away from that new dance club she had just _had_ to try out. She was dimly aware that she was clutching her purse as if her life would vanish if she let go. Music from the club was playing dimly in her ears and she was developing a sharp pain in her back from the cold stone the building she was leaning against was made of. The wind was blowing slightly casting the scent of rain yet to come all around her. As her eyes came more into focus and she became alert to her surroundings her heart started racing and panic set in. She hadn't realized she was crying as she hastily dialed the number of the only person she knew she could count on now.

Luke had taken the extra time tonight to refill all the salt shakers and ketchup bottles, mop the floor, finish up the dishes, and even restock the shelves. So when he finally climbed the stairs to his apartment, his feet dragging with exhaustion, it was after 11. He was looking forward to climbing into his new queen sized, pillowed top mattress, latest in sleep technology, bed (thankful now that Lorelai had convinced him to buy it). Just before he unbuttoned his flannel his phone abruptly rang. "Who on earth is calling me at this hour?"

"Hello?"

"Luke?... I need help." Her voice was so small and broken that he was barely able to recognize it.

"Lorelai? Are you ok? What's wrong?" His mind instantly flew into overdrive. This confident radiant woman that he served coffee everyday hardly ever broke done, and she certainly never admitted needing help unless something was really wrong."

"I just…I need you…to, umm… I need you to come and get me." She could barley choke the words out she was now crying so hard.

Lorelai where are you? Are you hurt? I'm coming right now just tell me where you are."

"Umm do you remember that new dance club I was telling you about?" More sniffles and tears, she couldn't hold herself together the pain was too great to bear.

"I'm on my way." click. He was gone.

She felt so alone as she listened to the dead air that replaced Luke's warm voice. She couldn't think, only feel- so hurt, so broken, so _violated._ She didn't know what else to do so she sat on her street corner clutching her purse so hard her hands were beginning to turn blue. The street light above her flicked on and off every few minutes casting orangeish glows that's only seemed to mock her. Finally she saw a familiar pickup truck pull down the street.

Luke was worried as hell. Was she ok, did someone hurt her, was she lying in the street somewhere… suddenly he spotted her huddled against a building and his heart dropped from his chest "shit… oh God let her be ok."

Panic flashed in his eyes as he threw the gear into park and sprinted from his seat over to her.

"Oh thank you God, Luke!"

She tried to scream but it came out slightly above a whisper because the tears were falling so fast. She finally let go of her purse and clung to him like a lost puppy. He still had no idea what had happened (and neither do you yet he he) but he held her close, knowing something was terribly not right.

"Come on; let's go get in to the truck."

He gently tried to coax her up but she just held onto him tighter. So he grabbed her purse and scooped her up tenderly in his arms and carried her back to his vehicle that he had left in the middle of the road.

He placed her in the passenger's seat and climbed into the driver's. She immediately laid her head down on his lap and continued weeping quietly. He place his hand softly on top of her head and gently stroked her hair as she cried. He has to ask though, you don't just find you best friend on a street corner and not ask questions.

"Lorelai, what happened?"

His voice full of concern but Lorelai could not make herself say that horrible word.

"Oh Luke," she sobbed, "It was sooo awful."

She dissolved into a fresh set of tears as Luke continued to caress her hair. He knew not to push, she was so emotionally distraught. He drove back to their familiar little town, lights all out now that everyone was in bed. He was unsure if he should take her home or back to his place, but knowing for sure he was defiantly not leaving her alone like this. Slowly she raised herself up and just stared out the window, silent tears working their way down her cheeks. She was trying to put on her 'brave face', suck it up and pretend like she was going to be fine, brush it off like it was nothing, she was a master at the act-he'd seen the show before.

"Hey, do you want me to take you to your house?"

Still in that gentle concerned voice, she wasn't fooling him anymore than she was herself and she knew it. She also knew that she didn't want to be in her own skin right now, let alone her own house. The 'it's all right' attitude wasn't going to get her out of this one.

"No, I…I don't think I can be there tonight, you can just take me to the inn."

A small voice that she hardly recognized as her own spoke but at least she had gotten the tears to stop.

"There is no way I'm leaving you alone, you're can come back to my place."

"Luke really you don't have to."

"Lorelai, you are coming back with me, I'm going to make you some tea, we are going sit down and talk about this, and work through it together. There is not a chance in hell I'm dropping you off so you can go cry yourself to sleep and ignore this problem away, I won't let you, and I'm sorry If you get mad at me for it but that's the way it is."

Luke hadn't met for it to be a mini-rant he just wanted to get his point across, he was really concerned about her. Her eyes were wide with shock and her mouth hung open slightly for a minute before she recovered, glanced down at her hands and whispered,

"Thank you."

He took a hold of her hand that she had been determinedly staring at causing her to look up into his eyes.

"Anytime." One word that packed such a punch, Luke had such power. He eased her pain slightly with this and she closed her eyes for the rest of the trip.

When he pulled up to the diner she got out of the car glancing at the darkened store fronts in front of her. One had a simple red sign in the window: HELP WANTED. Talk about reflecting feelings. She walked with Luke silently into the diner and up the stairs to his apartment, scared to death of what she had ot admit to him; because admitting to him what happened meant admitting it to herself and she wasn't sure she could handle that.

She sat down on the couch next to him, probably a little closer than she normally would. It almost felt like she drew strength from him in someway and right now she desperately needed it. She could feel his eyes on her searching her, and she forced herself to meet them. It was like an enchantment, that's it Luke ahs magical eyes that grab a hold of your own and don't let go. He took her hand once more and asked her,

"Lorelai, what happened tonight?"

His voice was steady, yet soft. He wasn't demanding more like pleading. She trusted him, she really did, but she felt a swell of shame and the tears started falling again. She had to tell him, there was no one else to tell, if she couldn't tell Luke she would drown in her own misery.

"I was having a good time in that club. The music wasn't bad, and I thought the company wasn't either."

She had him on edge with anticipation. She could she the worry in his eyes and she hated to have to cause him part of the pain she was feeling. At the same time she knew it was a pain he quite willingly was taking and that he would have taken it all from her if he could bear the burden for her.

With the memory starting to flood but so did her tears and as she tried to choke out the words he placed his arm around her, holding her close. If he hadn't she was sure she would have fallen into a million pieces.

"It was big...lots of rooms…my partner wanted to show me his favorite one..."

She choked out between sobs. It was taking all her strength to tell him.

"He shut the door... it was dark... he hit me...he...he"

"HE HIT YOU!"

Luke was enraged, yet the worse feeling was he knew she wasn't finished and his assumptions were causing his stomach to turn.

"Ooh Luke..."

She sobbed harder and harder. Her eyes were almost swollen shut form crying so hard and her shoulders shook violently. He had enveloped her with his arms and pulled her so close she was almost in his lap. Her head was buried in his shoulder as she cried and cried. Fearing the worst he spoke softly right into her ear,

"Is that all?"

He head shook form side to side, but she could not force herslf to look him in the eye as she painfully spoke these next few words,

"He...he raped me."

The words stung Luke deep in his heart and he had nothing to respond to that with. No words could communicate what he felt now, so he responded the only way he could he held he tighter still, pulling her completely into his lap and gently rocking her back and forth. The pain he was in he knew was nothing compared to what she was feeling but it moved him so much that he could do nothing else but let go and simply cry with her.

Luke could not remember the last time he had actually cried but he certainly was now. they remained like that formany long minutes, two people who care so immensely about each other sharing nothing but raw emotion. They were so close, they didn't need words, they simply understood each other. No questions were needed when he gently pulled her up off the couch and bringing her into the bathroom, wiping her face off with a cool wash cloth; or when he went to turn the bed down and she slipped into one of his flannel shirts and crawled in right next to him. She didn't ask him to stay she just knew he expected her to. He didn't ask her if it was alright to pull her close to him and kiss her goodnight on the forehead he just knew that she needed him to.

They would leave the hard questions for tomorrow, right now she needed comfort and to feel safe and he knew it. She sighed softly and said,

"What would I ever do without you Luke?"

He returned the deep sigh before pulling her closer to him and responding,

"Don't worry; you won't ever have to find out."

And with that he felt her relax a little against his body, snuggle deeper into the covers, and drift away to sleep, confident that although she didn't know how, she'd make it through somehow with Luke by her side.

END

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**A/N 2**: well I hope you enjoyed it as much as I loved writing it, although not the happiest of subjects. PLEASE REVIEW so I can get your feedback! (And I promise I'm almost done with the story I mentioned in _These Eyes_. What you haven't read _These Eyes_ yet? What are you waiting for? Click on my profile and check it out now :-) 


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